February Pick: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader...

'We will be reading "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C.S Lewis... It is the 3rd book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, but it's not necessary to read the first two in order to understand and enjoy this one.

This story returns Edmund and Lucy, along with their priggish cousin, Eustace, to Narnia. Once there, they join Caspian's voyage on the ship, the Dawn Treader, to find the seven lords who were banished by the evil King Miraz who took over the throne. This perilous journey brings them face to face with many wonders and dangers as they sail toward Aslan's country at the end of the world.

This series is considered one of the classics of children's literature and has sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages.'

If anyone wants to go see the movie, let me know!

January Pick: "Left to Tell"...

Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans. Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them.

The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman’s journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.

We will be discussing this book January 20th 8:00pm at Geanie Rodgers' House.

December Pick: "The Great Divorce"...

VERY SIMPLY, this story is about a man who, having died, found himself in Purgatory/Hell, waiting for a bus that would take him to the foothills of Heaven. There he would have the opportunity to choose one place or the other. The majority of the book is a collection of the conversations and teachings that he witnessed as people were implored and entreated to choose Heaven; most declined and returned to Hell. A few advanced to the glories unknown. The book's primary message is presented with almost oblique tidiness--"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"

We will be discussing this book tentatively December 16th, 8:00pm at Stacie Cheney's house.

November Pick: 'Still Alice'...

"Alice Howland has a career as an esteemed psychology professor at Harvard, living a comfortable life in Cambridge with her husband, John, when the first symptoms of Alzheimer's begin to emerge. First, Alice can't find her Blackberry, then she becomes hopelessly disoriented in her own town. Alice is shocked to be diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, after which her life begins steadily to unravel. She loses track of rooms in her home, resigns from Harvard and eventually cannot recognize her own children. The brutal facts of Alzheimer's are heartbreaking, but this book is one of the unity that can come to a family who have to band together to love and nurture the woman who always loved and nurtured them."

We will discuss this book on November 18th, 8:00pm at Allison Larsen's house, 431 S Burgundy Bay Way!

October Pick...

"Wang Lung, rising from humble Chinese farmer to wealthy landowner, gloried in the soil he worked. He held it above his family, even above his gods. But soon, between Wang Lung and the kindly soil that sustained him, came flood and drought, pestilence, revolution and also riches.

Through this one humanly flawed Chinese peasant, Nobel Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck traces the whole cycle of life, its terrors, its passion, its persistent ambitions and its rewards. Her brilliant novel—beloved by millions of readers throughout the world—is a universal tale of the destiny of men."

This book discussion will be October 21st, 8:00pm, Cold Stone Creamery, Eagle & State.

MOCKINGJAY BOOK AVAILABLE!!! WHO WANTS IT?!?!

Whoever texts me first, can have it! 250-8202

We'll meet to talk about this on September 16th, 8:00 pm, at Jill's house: 11357 W. Hercules Drive!!

Email of Upcoming Picks and Tentative Schedule!!!

Hey y'all!!!

Now that vacations and boating and camping and traveling are all out of the way, and school is back in session, let's get back to business and hopefully get on a schedule! We met at Rembrandt's last week and talked 'a little bit' about 'The Midwife', and A LOT about everything else in our lives! Haha, such is our habit. Amazing pick, Kim, thanks!

We also set up a tentative schedule that MIGHT help with the organization of things. I'm still hanging on to the hope that we can have book assignments chosen a couple months in advance to give the library circulation some time and get available books around to each other so everyone can have the chance to read it (or at least start it) before we meet. Due to lack of attendance and/or volunteers, TENTATIVE assignments have been made.

If you no longer want to participate in Book Club, or you want to pick a book but not host, or host but not pick a book, or the month assigned isn't a good month for you, let me know and we'll fix it!! We have quite a few books that have been talked about and suggested (The Shack- [GREAT for discussion], Man's Search for Meaning and The Horse Boy) and also several available meeting places, so if you are having trouble with your 'assignment', speak up!!

September- Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins- Jill Baird
October- The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck- Luisa Perkes
November- Still Alice by Lisa Genova - Allison Larsen
December- The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis - Stacie Cheney
January- Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza - Geanie Rodgers

February- Beth Webb
March- Jess Mortenson
April- Sharla Jenkins
May- Chelsea McClure
June- Katie Jones
July- Heather Soelberg
August- Brit Cooper
September- Kim Davis

As you can see, we have some new members! Please check the blog for addresses when it comes to their month to host, but I will also be sending out emails with updates and info.

Keep me updated on your thoughts, opinions and changes!!! Thanks!

Our next book- The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth -and does anyone know when our next meeting is?

OUR NEXT MEETING

Thorn Birds Book available

I finished reading the Thorn Birds. It was a good one. If anyone wants it feel free. I think it's due back to the library June 21.

Book Club Meeting this Month!

Hey everyone!

Just a reminder that our book club meeting this month is May 20th at my house: 746 N Aspen Lakes Way (in the Rockbridge Subdivision). I'm thinking we'll have it at 8pm unless I hear from you all that you'd like it to be at a different time.

Here are some remarks regarding the book that I found and thought I'd share:

"Cry, the Beloved Country is a beautifully told and profoundly compassionate story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s. The book is written with such keen empathy and understanding that to read it is to share fully in the gravity of the characters' situations. It both touches your heart deeply and inspires a renewed faith in the dignity of mankind. Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic tale, passionately African, timeless and universal, and beyond all, selfless."

"Cry, the Beloved Country is set in this tense and fragile society, where the breathtaking beauty of the nation’s natural landscape is tainted by the fears of its people. And yet, the message of the novel is one of hope. Characters such as Stephen Kumalo, James Jarvis, and Theophilus Msimangu reveal a potential for goodness in humankind, and are able to defuse hatred, overcome fear, and take the first steps necessary for mending a broken nation."

"Cry the Beloved Country" is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Remarkable for its contemporaneity, unforgettable for character and incident, "Cry, the Beloved Country" is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man."



I hope you're all reading the book, but if you aren't, here's an option...

Not to tempt you away from the book (because I really hope you all will read it) but if you know for sure that you just can't/won't get the book read for the 20th, I own the movie on dvd I could lend out. That way you can still know the plot and participate in the discussion. It's a moving rendition of the book and has James Earl Jones as Kumalo. Let me know if you need to borrow it before we meet.

Thanks,
Stacie

BOOK CLUB TOMORROW NIGHT * ARYN'S HOUSE!!!!!

i'm so sorry. i've totally slacked on my emailing duties.

book club is thursday night april 15th * sampson residence 8:30p.m

discussing "ALCHEMIST"... and other important matters.

address:

4488 north station ave * meridian

from star:

go south on star rd. (heading toward chinden)

turn left on chinden

right on ten mile (not very visible, little green sign)

go through the mcmillian intersection and then take 2nd left into the BRIDGE TOWER subdivision

turn left after waterfall (Desert Breeze)

right on Piazza

rode will curve left on STATION AVE.

right hand side in the cul-de-sac.

can't wait to see all of your lovely faces!!!

Book Ideas for Future Months...

Per a conglomeration of brainstorming at last months book club:

The Lost Symbol

The Shack

Les Miserables

The Great Divorce

Zookeepers Wife

I Am Mother

Galileos Daughter

Fahrenheit 451

Water for Elephants

#1 Ladies Detective Agency

I believe at Brittany's house we decided that after Cry The Beloved Country, we were going to read Thorn Birds, then Mere Christianity [if Kim still wants that one], Eat, Pray, Love [if Jill still wants that one] and I'm going to choose Pope Joan.

So... the order for right now should be... approximately:

March - The Alchemist

April - Cry, the Beloved Country

May - Thorn Birds

June - Mere Christianity

July - Eat, Pray, Love

August - Pope Joan

September - The Good Earth?

Everyone! Does this sound right???? Please Add Add Add! Or make whatever changes you need to!!! Jessica, we haven't really had a pick from your direction in a while!!

Book of the Month

"Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its simplicity and wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an Alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a meditation on the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is art eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts."

next month:

Book Suggestions

Really cute one for kids...and adults~

"Dozens of children respond to this peculiar ad in the newspaper and are then put through a series of mind-bending tests, which readers take along with them. Only four children-two boys and two girls-succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and inventive children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. But what they'll find in the hidden underground tunnels of the school is more than your average school supplies. So, if you're gifted, creative, or happen to know Morse Code, they could probably use your help."

"Wang Lung, rising from humble Chinese farmer to wealthy landowner, gloried in the soil he worked. He held it above his family, even above his gods. But soon, between Wang Lung and the kindly soil that sustained him, came flood and drought, pestilence and revolution....

Through this one Chinese peasant and his children, Nobel Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck traces the whole cycle of life, its terrors, its passion, its persistent ambitions and its rewards. Her brilliant novel—beloved by millions of readers throughout the world—is a universal tale of the destiny of men."

For March 19th book club we are reading "the help." and will be held at Brittany coopers house at 7:00...see you all there!!!

Book Club February 18th

Hey Gals, Has anyone offered to do book club this month? I haven't heard of anyone so I am going to make an executive decision. Book club will be held at Louie's Italian Restaurant in Meridian at 7:30. That will give us an hour and a half to discuss the book. I am planning on going to a movie afterwards with Jessica. Come if you can! "Dear John" is playing at 9:40 and "When in Rome" is playing at 9:15. We can wait to decide what movie we want to see until after dinner. Hope to see you all there. Can't wait! Jill

P.S. Happy Birthday Jessica ---I love you!

Back to Business...

While talking to some of 'the ladies' about book club, I decided to do a kind of maintenance post so that after the holidays we can all get back on the same page.

First of all, I got the list from the Boise Public library of all the sets that they have for the express purpose of lending to book clubs. I decided to post that here so that we can all take a look and get some ideas for future picks.

LIBRARY LIST

Second of all, a couple of people have mentioned that perhaps we should start up again with the emails finalizing dates, times and locations of Book Club nights, in addition to the blog. I think people are more prone to checking their email than the blog. Aryn, would you still be up for doing that?

Also, I was thinking that perhaps we could try to pick the books a couple of months in advance so that people will be able to have enough time to get them at the library.

Just some thoughts... [I'm not meaning to sound presumptive... excuse me if I am!!]

January Bookclub!!

Heather Soelberg has been nice enough to offer to host our book club tomorrow night, Thursday the 21st at 8:30pm at her house: 761 Finsbury Way in Saddlebrook! We will be meeting to discuss Katie's pick for December- The Christmas Sweater!

Heather has picked 'Three Little Words' by Ashley Rhodes-Courter, so get your reservation at the library!

December Book Club

I've picked the book for our next Book Club... We will be reading "The Christmas Sweater" by Glenn Beck. I thought it would be fun to read a Christmas book. I didn't want anything cheesy and this is a really great one. We will meet at my house on Thursday the 17th at 8:00. My address is: 11835 W Gambrell St. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there to discuss "Uglies" with Jill Baird!!

Book Club has Moved to Dec

I have been talking to a few people about book club and the verdict is to move it to December. Jessica Mortensen and Allison Larsen are hosting a new moon party up at Avimore on Thursday night. I thought about rescheduling it for next tues night but that is basketball for a lot of the guys. We'll just plan on talking about Uglies and then whatever Katie decides to pick for the Dec read. Jessica and Allison said to be sure and invite any and everyone to the New Moon Party at Avimore. If you aren't sure about how to get there you can call me or Jessica. See you there!